


I wanna grow old with you

by ashintuku



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: De Rolo Children - Freeform, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 00:58:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14438010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashintuku/pseuds/ashintuku
Summary: She smiled a little, feeling oddly frail. "Grey hair."





	I wanna grow old with you

"Mama, what's this?"

Vex'ahlia hissed as her precocious daughter grabbed a handful of hair and yanked in what she likely thought was a gentle manner. She gingerly pried off the little girl's fingers, taking a moment to examine what she was looking at. 

"Oh!"

"Dear?"

Vex blinked rapidly, turning away from her hair only when Elaina's weight disappeared from her arms. Percy stood there, holding their girl and letting her pull his glasses off with little fuss. He squinted a bit once they were successfully removed, but the look of concern he had been wearing did not disappear. 

She smiled a little, feeling oddly frail. "Grey hair."

"Like Da's!" Elaina squealed, delighted as she made the connection. "Pretty!"

"Yes, very pretty," Percy agreed. He set her down, taking his glasses carefully and handing her a little toy - Percy had taken to carrying toys after their firstborn. "Go and find the twins, would you? I do believe they are playing in the gardens and wouldn't mind the company." 

"Okay..." Elaina pouted, before standing up on her tiptoes expectantly. "Kiss!" Percy obliged her, kissing her cheek and then her forehead, and she giggled. "Love you!" 

"And we love you, dearest," Percy assured. Once she was gone, Vex watched her husband look over at her. 

"You look terribly shaken for a single grey hair."

"It's not - it isn't a _vanity_ thing, it is just." Vex took a moment to close her eyes and breathe; she was being absolutely ridiculous. "...we promised we would get grey hair together. We were probably around Elaina's age - swore up and down that we would get them at once."

"You mean your brother."

"Yes."

Percy stepped towards her, and she folded herself into his arms easily; breathing out a shaky breath as the constant ache of grief swelled to something a little less distant for the moment. 

"I never imagined a future without my brother - he's been there since the very start. Mother used to say that we held hands the moment we were born." 

"Who was born first?"

"Vax - by _two minutes_. He used to use that as an excuse to boss me around all the time." She paused, laughing. "Even back then he used to drag me around everywhere. Looking for adventure." 

"You were close."

"Best friends. You saw what we were like, Percy." 

"Yes, but sometimes it helps to talk about it all the same." He kissed her forehead, and Vex squeezed her eyes shut. "Plus Vax never told us anything if he could help it. So please - tell me about one of my dearest friends. Anything you want to talk about at all." 

Vex looked up at her husband, feeling strangely frail again. 

"'You're a wonderful man, Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III." 

"What I am is a mouthful."

Vex laughed, leaning up to kiss him. 

"Oh, that, too." She took his hand, dragging him away towards the garden. "Let's see, what should I start with... Ah. Vax's first attempts to sneak." 

"Oh, this is promising already."

~+~

"Mama, what's this?" 

Elaina winced as Vex'ahlia grabbed a handful of hair, tugging on it. She carefully pried her daughter's fingers off, taking the moment to examine the hair in question; Vax'ildan already tucked into bed, watching the two with wide, curious eyes. Elaina smiled. 

"That, my dear, is a grey hair. It means I am becoming older than my years - thanks to two scamps I know."

"That's us," Vex whispered loudly to Vax. The little boy giggled, scooting over as Vex clambered into her spot. "Well, _I_ think it looks silver. Oh! Will our hair turn silver one day?" 

"One day, certainly." Elaina sat on the edge of the bed, the book for the night's story in her hand. "Who shall get a silver hair first?" 

"Vax," Vex said, very sure. "He's older."

"Vex," Vax said, also very sure. "She really, _really_ likes silver."

Vex pouted while Elaina smiled at her twins. The little girl then perked up, looking at Vax. She held out her hand, pinky first. 

"Let's get them together, like everything else! Please? It's so much better when we do things together." 

Vax set up, grinning and hooking their pinkies together. 

"Promise!"

"I promise we'll get old together." 

"Good!" Vex pulled her hand away and wrapped Vax up in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're my brother."

"Stuck with me forever!" 

"Hold into that," Elaina said, reaching out to smooth back their hair. "Hold onto each other. You're very lucky to have what you do. Cherish it."

"Yes, Mama." 

"Yes, Mama! Now can we have a story?"

Elaina laughed, tucking them in again. "I have only been waiting for you. Now then, once upon a time, in a kingdom far away..." 

~+~

It was gathering onto evening by the time Vex'ahlia made it to the stone bench. Trinket lumbered beside her, quiet and slow with age, and a single snowflake hit her nose, warning her just before it started to snow properly. Carefully climbing over gnarled roots and keeping an eye on the familiar path, the Lady of Whitestone sighed softly as Vax'ildan's bench finally came into view. 

She sat down without further ado, Trinket plopping down at her feet. She watched the snow fall quietly for a few minutes - unsure as always as to where to start. 

Before she could think of anything to say, a large raven fluttered onto the bench beside her. She looked down at it and wondered if the familiar eyes were a trick of wishes and memories. 

"Hello," she said gently. The raven tilted its head before hopping into her shoulder. "You look like Keyleth's raven. The big one that watches over her. Have you come to visit me, now?"

The raven creaked a soft _caw_ , twisting its head to pluck at her hair. Vex laughed, tugging her hair gently from its beak; catching sight of the strand of grey. 

She turned to the raven to scold it for pulling when she spotted a grey streak in glossy feathers, in the exact same spot as her hair. Mouth hanging open, feeling like she could truly break, she let out a wet laugh and buried her nose in the bird's side. 

"Kept your promise, did you?"

The raven said nothing, because of _course_ it didn't, and after a moment it took off, clipping her ear but she didn't even care. 

She let her head drop back, the wind blowing through her hair; the distant cries of a raven filling the quiet of the evening.

**Author's Note:**

> I have just started watching CR campaign one and I know all what happens but I recently passed the episode with Kamaljiori and someone went, laughingly, "this is the only time this will happen to them", referring to Vax being older than Vex. 
> 
> But knowing what happens? It's the only time Vex ever sees Vax grow old. And I Weep.


End file.
